This is a lesson about detecting atmospheres of planets. Learners will explore stellar occultation events (by interpreting light curves) to determine if an imaginary dwarf planet “Snorkzat” has an atmosphere. The activity is part of Project... (View More) Spectra, a science and engineering program for middle-high school students, focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System. (View Less)

This is a lesson about visual spectra. Learners will explore different ways of displaying visual spectra, including colored "barcode" spectra, like those produced by a diffraction grating, and line plots displaying intensity versus color, or... (View More) wavelength. Students learn that a diffraction grating acts like a prism, bending light into its component colors. The activity is part of Project Spectra, a science and engineering program for middle-high school students, focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System. (View Less)

This experiment is about contaminiation. Learners will go through a series of steps in which they will test and observe how detergent breaks up contamination in a guided inquiry. Following this they will complete an open inquiry in which they ask... (View More) questions about variables in washing dishes and design and conduct a test to answer these questions. Includes a teacher's guide and students handouts. Video and audio clips are provided. This lesson 4 of 10 from the Dynamic Design: The Cleanroom module. (View Less)

In this activity, students experiment to test the hypothesis that Mars was once hotter. The activity requires some advance preparation by the teacher: the day before the activity, need to place a plastic bottle filled with water in the freezer.... (View More) Materials needed include plastic bottle of water and thermometer. It is a companion piece to a CD about the exploration of Mars that uses song and drama to tell the story of Spirit and Opportunity, NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers, and their mission to search for signs of ancient water. (View Less)

This is a journal article and activity/demonstration about navigation in space. Learners will learn about gyroscopes by playing with a spinning bicycle wheel to demonstrate momentum, centripal force and angular momentum. First the spinning wheel is... (View More) held perpendicular to the ground, then parallel to the ground, then it is hung from a string, and finally the wheel is held in the center by at its axle points while the person is on a swivel stool. The results are explained, specific vocabulary is introduced, and questions are presented. The article was originally published in The Technology Teacher, by the International Technology Education Association. (View Less)

This article describes an indoor, game-type demonstration, incorporating physics (EM wave modulation), math (binary codes), space technology, and music to show how spacecraft put information into the radio signals they send back to Earth. The... (View More) article was originally written for and published by the International Technology Education Association in its journal, The Technology Teacher. It is now archived on The Space Place Web site. (View Less)

This is a activity about how reaction wheels affect spacecraft orientation (attitude). Learners will observe Newton's Third Law (action-reaction) in the changes caused by a reaction wheel acting upon a spacecraft suspended from a support wire and in... (View More) the ensuing interfering forces from the wire support. The experiment includes an option for demonstration and for learner investigation. Notes about gyroscopes are included. (View Less)